In the racing industry safety has become an increasingly important issue. Most drivers now wear helmets and flame proof suits and it is desirable to condition the air drivers breathe. NASCAR™ has identified carbon monoxide, produced by race cars as a significant health risk to its drivers. It is common place in racing for the driver to wear a helmet, and most modern helmets have an air inlet that allows conditioned air to enter the helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,935 discloses a personal cooling air filtering device applicable to racing. This device uses machinable carbon foam to create a heat exchanger for a thermal electric cooler. The patent discloses the possible use of a CO filter to remove CO gas but does not give any details on how to achieve a result. The carbon foam heat exchanger appears to be an expensive, bulky and unnecessary approach.